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Battle Rap Dictionary
List of battle rap vocab A Angle: ' ''Noun. A method of verbal attack. B '''Bang: Verb. (See gangbang.) Bar: Noun. In broader music theory, a segment of time defined by a given number of beats in a musical composition. In the context of rap, which may or may not be accompanied by music, loosely analogous to a poetic stanza or strophe (i.e. a grouped set of lines of determinable measure). Bars often are spoken of collectively as a sort of wealth possessed of oneself or another rapper. Bitchmade: Adjective. Offensive. Displaying weakness, fear, emotionality and/or lack of character, as thought to be undesirable feminine traits. (See pussy.) Body bag (short form: body): Verb. Figuratively kill an opponent (i.e. place them in a body bag); dominate an opponent in competition. (See murder.) C Check: 1. Verb. Borrowed from sports jargon, aggress an opponent through physical touch. (Example: Charron and Shotgun Suge's reciprocal pocket checks during their URL battle.) (NOTE: While most battle contracts expressly forbid and sanction against physical attacks, the disdain for less clearly combative touch is merely unspoken. Thus, many battlers will controversially touch their opponents in various ways based on an assumed level of comfort.) 2. Verb. Stop or slow down the progress of an opponent's progress, attack, or claim. Cheese: Noun. Money. Choke: Verb. Run out of rapped lines prematurely either by forgetting prepared bars or failing to freestyle fluidly; arguably the single most incriminating misstep in rap delivery. Not to be confused with stumbling. Chrome: Noun. A handgun, esp. one with nickel plating. Cipher (also cypher): 1. Noun. An informal gathering of rappers (but possibly other types of performance artists as well), esp. in a circle, in order to showcase their respective talents collegially or competitively. 2. Noun. The performance circle including surrounding spectators, whose response adds to the communal character of the event. Classic: Noun. A battle or performance remembered (or expected to be remembered) over time as exhibiting outstanding artistry or dynamism. D Dickrider: Noun. Offensive. An ardent fan or devotee. Disrespect: Noun. Attack employing the egregious invasion of sensitive areas in an opponent's offstage life. Deaths, illnesses, sexual indignities, and legal troubles endured by an opponent or his/her loved ones are popular inspirations for disrespectful attacks. (A signature tactic of Arsonal.) Don DeMarco: Noun. The sampled namedrop of the DJ for URL events. Earlier in URL's history, when a battler's line got lots of crowd reaction, the DJ played an airhorn sound effect followed by the drop of his own name. This became so frequent that audiences from both URL and other battle leagues began to shout the response themselves. The namedrop is sampled from rapper Jay-Z's song Can't Knock the Hustle. Dope: Adjective. Skillful, inspired. (See also nice; constrast with wack.) E Expose: Verb. Publicly exploit -- on or offstage -- a vulnerability in one's opponent(s). F Flow: 1. Noun. The recognizable cadence with which a rapper delivers his/her lines. 2. Verb. Deliver lines in a recognizable cadence, esp. in an appealing manner. Freestyle: 1. Noun. An ad lib rap, delivered entirely through improvisation or constructed from stock bars committed to memory. 2. Verb. Deliver an ad lib rap. G Gangbang (short form: bang:) Verb. Engage in street gang and/or organized crime activity. Gas: Verb. Venerate or encourage (someone) with praise, esp. beyond the degree warranted. Ghostwrite: Verb. Write the lines of another who is the presumed or credited author. While the practice assumes a desirable artistry on the part of the ghostwriter, performing ghostwritten lines generally is frowned upon in the battle rap community. Gimmick: Noun. A trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or business. Nudity, eccentric behavior, and outrageous costumes are signature gimmicks of Daylyt. Gun bar (also gun line): Noun. A bar about guns and related firepower and/or accessories. H I Ill. Adjective. Skillful, talented, or inspired beyond common sensibilities; said of both rappers and their work. (See sick; contrast with wack.) J K L M Murder. Verb. Figuratively kill an opponent; dominate an opponent in competition. (See body bag.) Multisyllable rhyme (Short form: multi): Noun. Grouped phrases in which more than one syllable rhymes. N Name flip: Noun. Tactic wherein a battler lampoons his/her opponent's name with witty wordplay. (Example: "That's why you'll never make it big, cuz you're not Juicy, Couture" - O'fficial) '''Nice:' Adjective. Skillful, inspired. (See also dope; contrast with wack.) O P Performance: 1. Noun. An act of staging or delivering a rap. 2. Noun. The theatricality of a rap delivery, as separate from its rhetorical content or technical merit. Personal: Noun. A verbal attack highlighting details (often embarrassing) of an opponent's offstage life. Promotional (also promo) battle: Noun. A rap battle wherein opponents agree ahead of time to forgo formal judging. Battlers might pursue such an arrangement if they fear a loss would sully their record or if an opponent is sufficiently junior to them as to constitute a "step down" in their formal battling trajectory. Prop: 1. Noun. A physical accessory, including another person, used to assist execution of one's rap. Incriminating photos of an opponent, for example, would be a popular prop. 2. Noun. An accolade or point of praise cited in honor of another. Punchline: Noun. A line delivered as the climax to a joke or series of setup bars. Pussy: Noun. Offensive. One who displays weakness, fear, emotionality and/or lack of character, as thought to be undesirable feminine traits. (See bitchmade.) Q R Reach: 1. Noun. An excessively forced metaphor, scheme, or wordplay. 2. Verb. Deliver an excessively forced metaphor, scheme, or wordplay. Reality: Noun. Nonfictionalized offstage life as inspiration for a rap. Rebuttal: Noun. Bars delivered to counter an opponent's comment earlier in the same battle. Given the inability to foresee such comments, rebuttals are often delivered freestyle. Remix: Noun. The repeat of a line in a slightly varied, embellished fashion so as to bolster its impact. (A signature tactic of Hitman Holla.) S Scheme: Noun. An extended measure of bars executed under a particular aesthetic theme or narrative arc. Attacks wherein rappers assume the identity or universe of pop culture or literary figures are popular schemes. Setup: Noun. A series of bars executed as a lead-in to a verbal payoff, or punchline. Sick. Adjective. Skillful, talented or inspired beyond common sensibilities; said of both rappers and their work. (See ill; contrast with wack.) "Slow it down": Interjection. A cue to rivals and/or the audience to pause and reconsider a bar just delivered. Such reconsideration often unveils hidden wordplay or multiple meanings. (A signature tactic of Conceited.) Spit: Verb. Deliver a rap. Stumble: Verb. Momentarily lose one's verbal composure. T U V W Wack: Adjective. Unskillful, uninspired; said of a rapper or his/her work. Wordplay. Noun. The witty exploitation of the meaning, ambiguities, sound, composition, rhyme pattern, and layered subtext of words and phrases. X Y Z